Might not be the hottest take in this sub but figured my experience and interest in discussing it might be worth a post.

I’m 22 and female, and started a new job somewhat recently. I’m in a largely male dominated field and I’m the only woman in my team - my immediate team is all men from ages 24-30 and my greater management team is also all men, in their 40’s-50’s. I’m also the only woman in my office apart from the secretary. It’s a job that demands hard physical labour - you get your hands dirty, work long hours, have to use tactile skills with tools, and work with a lot of blue collar guys.

I’m a pretty girl and I’m outgoing, social, and positive, so I seem to make friends everywhere I go.

Pretty much immediately, I noticed the guys in my team treating me ‘gentler’ than they do eachother, ie touching me a lot, physically getting in my space, trying to ‘prove manliness,’ helping me a lot, inviting me onto projects when I was still being trained, looking out for me more than others, trying to protect me. There are team members of mine who are married and still flirt with me. Blue collar guys we work with (not apart of our company) will be assholes to eachother but kind and sweet to me, and my male coworkers will notice it and get jealous that I receive attention from them. They’ve also made comments about how likeable I am and how easily I’ve assimilated because people always want to chat and hang with me.

I haven’t been here very long at all and yet I’ve been extremely successful in terms of getting on a diverse range of projects that many other coworkers haven’t been invited onto.

I’m a very hard worker and I’m smart and qualified and try and be kind and optimistic always, so I don’t doubt I deserve a lot of the positive professional attention I get. I’m great at the work I do and a fast learner but I believe the reason I get picked up on projects so much more frequently than others is due to more than just skill. My coworkers are just as smart and capable.

With that being said, I don’t believe I’d have nearly as much success or be as ‘popular’ if I wasn’t good looking.

Interested in hearing opinions on the matter.